Building excellence
The Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill, renowned world-wide for cutting edge research, offers a PhD Program in Management where outstanding students conduct fundamental research at the frontiers of management knowledge and practice.
With the collaboration of faculty and industry leaders, the program prepares students to become autonomous researchers, whose teaching, publications and consulting activities contribute to leading universities and organizations around the world.
The Desautels PhD program participates in a joint doctoral program that brings together the four leading Montreal universities (HEC-Montreal, Concordia, UQAM, and McGill). As a result, students gain access to the rich doctoral offerings from other universities and are expected to include professors from other universities on their committees.
Areas of specialization
Before entering the PhD Program in Management at Desautels, students must select an area of specialization from one of the following or from a combination thereof:
Accounting
Addressing issues related to the use of accounting information and the effect of regulations and changes.
The PhD specialization in Accounting focuses on issues related to the use of accounting information by various users (i.e., investors, financial analysts), the effect of regulations and of changes in accounting practices and theory. These include financial reporting and disclosure, management accounting and control systems, and auditing.
Finance
Addressing current issues confronting organizations and investors operating in today’s rapidly changing financial environment.
The PhD specialization in Finance prepares students for research-oriented academic careers. While students from all backgrounds are encouraged to apply, the typical student holds an undergraduate or a master's degree in economics, finance, mathematics, statistics, computer science, engineering or physics. All admitted students will receive funding of at least $20,000 per year for a four year period.
Information Systems
Analyzing the processes and consequences of adoption, implementation, and changes associated with information technology.
The objectives of the PhD specialization in Information Systems (IS) are to promote theoretical and applied research on topics related to information systems practice with a combined focus on scientific rigour and relevance.
Marketing
Evaluating the impact of marketing strategies and tactics on consumers, brands, firms, and competition.
The PhD specialization in Marketing is concerned with the behavior of consumers, competitors and intermediaries, and the outcomes of their decisions as they relate to the performance of firms and brands. An interdisciplinary field, marketing relies considerably on fields such as psychology, economics, statistics and sociology to develop theory and methodology.
Operations Management
The formal modeling of decision-making problems in different fields.
The PhD specialization in Operations Management is typically characterized by a blend of theoretical and applied research. In addition to the Management Science Research Center of McGill, the area members are affiliated with two main inter-University research centers, GÉRAD and CIRRELT.
Organizational Behaviour
Shaping the design and management of complex and evolving organizations.
The fundamental objective of the PhD specialization in Organizational Behaviour is to train world-class researchers in this field. The term "organizational behaviour" refers to a collection of theory and research that focuses on individual and group attitudes, cognitions and behaviours in organizations.
Retail Management
The PhD Program in Management welcomes doctoral applications to the Retail Management area of specialization.
Strategy & Organization
Strategy formation and strategic change in the context of globalization.
The PhD specialization in Strategy & Organization is designed to train students in the theory and methods of strategy and organization. Desautels is renowned for its process approach to strategy – a focus on the dynamics through which strategies emerge and are realized in organizations, and the particular concepts and methodologies for studying the dynamics of strategic change.
Scholarly publications
Desautels continues to be a research leader among Canadian schools and maintains a high level of research productivity in the most prestigious journals. Consult the Desautels Research Newsletter for a list of Student Research Publications or view the Faculty list of PhD Theses.
Testimonials
"McGill's Desautels Faculty of Management offered me an incredible PhD opportunity: enough structure so that I learned the essentials of doctoral work, but enough freedom to build on this knowledge to publish articles so as to be ready for an academic job. My professors were helpful and supportive. They are now both colleagues and lifelong friends.”
- Brian King, PhD 2011
Associate Professor, HEC Montréal
“In addition to internal factors (e.g. persistence and passion), three contextual elements are critical for an innovative PhD dissertation and eventually landing a good academic position: (1) a resilient program structure that supports exploration in diverse knowledge domains; (2) top-notch faculty for supervision and collaboration; and (3) generous PhD funding package. In McGill’s PhD program, you can find them all tightly coupled! So no need to hesitate, just go for it!”
